Tier sells Nextbike to private equity firm

'Two distinct business and operating models' is given as reason for sale
By Adam Hill April 30, 2024 Read time: 2 mins
Nextbike: soon to be under new ownership (image: Tier Mobility)

Afer two years of ownership, Tier Mobility is selling its Nextbike bike-share brand to Star IV, a fund managed by private equity provider Star Capital Partnership.

The deal, which is expected to go through in May, means that the Leipzig-based company will be independent as Nextbike. 

A statement from Tier says: "The main reason for the current spin-off is the two distinct business and operating models: Nextbike focuses on subsidised bike-sharing contracts with the city as their customer, Tier-Dott’s core business model is B2C shared e-scooters & e-bikes, with the end user as our customer and the city as our key partner."

Since these business models have "distinct tender requirements and product needs", they will be better off as separate entities, Tier adds: "Each company will have greater success in building the best service for their customers independent from one another."

Nextbike says that had revenues of  European market leader generated revenue of €59.3m in 2023 and has 115,000 bikes across 300 cities in 20 countries.

The company says it will "continue to focus entirely on its core business - the development and integration of custom bike sharing solutions for public transportation infrastructures of cities and municipalities throughout Europe". 

Nextbike's Simon Stephan says: "In recent years, we have proven to be particularly resilient and innovative. Nextbike, together with its municipal partners, has not only established bike sharing as an integral component of local public transport but has also developed a stable and economically sustainable business model with this format. Long-term reliability is key when it comes to public infrastructure and services. With Star Capital, we now have an experienced and established partner behind us to continue Nextbike's success story for the next 20 years."

Philipp Gensch of Star Capital says there is "great potential for organic growth" for Nextbike.

The company "is driven by innovation like a start-up and at the same time offers the reliability of an established industry leader", he adds.

Mass Transit & MaaS Classification & Data Collection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Corporate car sharing fleets set to reach 85,000 vehicles in 2020
    February 24, 2014
    A recent analysis from Frost & Sullivan estimates the number of vehicles in car sharing fleets to stand at around 2,000 in 2013 and forecasts that by 2020 there could be between 75,000 and 100,000 of such vehicles in operation, as providers such as OEMs, leasing arms, rental companies, car sharing organisations (CSOs) and technology providers continually enter the market and expand geographically with competing solutions. With more than half of European automobile sales now accounted for by fleet sales, set
    Read More
  • Shailen Bhatt: Invest in America Act ‘critical' for VRU safety
    June 5, 2020
    ITS America president welcomes new legislation - particularly its potential for reducing road deaths
    Read More
  • Florida’s Altamonte Springs uses Uber pilot program with Uber to expand transportation coverage
    April 5, 2017
    To Uber or Not to Uber, that is the question cities must answer as they consider the pros and cons of inviting private transportation service providers to fill transportation gaps. Back in 1999, Frank Martz, city manager of Altamonte Springs, Florida, had an idea to expand transportation services to areas not covered by the local bus company.
    Read More
  • Daktronics celebrates 50 years of success
    June 5, 2018
    There’s a celebratory air about the Daktronics booth here at ITS America Detroit and with good reason: the company is toasting a half century of innovations and telling a remarkable story of growth from very small beginnings. In 1968, Daktronics began in a garage with two engineers who had the vision to start a US-based manufacturing company. They brought their commitment to quality and innovation to the transportation market in 1988 with a digital message display for the Connecticut DoT. Today, Daktronics
    Read More

Highlighted Content